The Work Based Personal Assistance scheme provides planned and/or emergency assistance to people with severe disabilities in the workplace.
Funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, the Work Based Personal Assistance is targeted primarily at those people with workforce skills, but experience difficulty obtaining or retaining employment because of their personal assistance needs.
The nature of the person’s disability must be attributable to an intellectual, psychiatric, sensory of physical impairment, or a combination of such impairments. Furthermore it must be permanent or likely to be permanent, and results in:
- A substantially reduced capacity of the person for communication.
- Learning or mobility; and
- The need for ongoing support services.
For this program, personal assistance relates to the self-care and closely allied needs of each person, including assistance with:
- Eating and drinking
- Personal care
- The use and care of aids and equipment
- Personal preparation for work where there are no existing paid in-home personal assistance arrangements; and
- Mobility and physical access